Dawning of the Harvest Moon
by MarzaPanda
Summary: A young man's journey in Forget-Me-Not Valley, following in the footsteps of his deceased father. Story based around an OC; will have much more Celia later. Rated T for minor alcohol use. Comes from the game A Wonderful Life. Please review--I want flames!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys, this is MarzaPanda for my first story ever! This story is based on A Wonderful Life, centering around an OC. Later Celia get's _way _more of a part, so she's one of the "main characters." The only reason this story is rated T is for of the Blue Bar and minimal alchohol use. I know the beginning is a bit slow, but 'ya gotta introduce the characters at some point! I've been working on this story for a while, and decided to start uploading it so I can become a beta reader.

Please review; I don't mind flames.

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Stepping out onto the beach, I took a deep breath of mountain air. I had finally arrived in Forget-Me-Not Valley.

"Come on, we've got a lot to do before the day ends." I turned to face Takakura. The man must have been 50, but still he managed the buying and selling of everything for the whole village. A friend of my recently departed father's, old Tak had come to find me in the Big Apple. Just a tad out of place in his old stained shirt that must have been white at some point in his life, dusty old brown pants, and on his boots the crusted remains of what I sorely hoped was just dirt.

He had told me of my father's death, asked me to come back to dear old dad's farm, and now here we were. Coming back to the present, I looked for Tak and spotted him a good 20 feet ahead, and setting a brisk pace. Jogging to catch up, I found myself out of breath almost immediately. I guess I didn't get out much, except for trudging around my college campus, wondering if I felt up to going to class. But that wouldn't be a problem. Farming was all done by machinery these days.

Looking around, however, I wasn't so sure. It seemed as though the technological wave had swept right by this secluded, tucked in little valley. A few simple brick houses lined the streets, and— was that a well? As simple as these village folk may be, there was no way that they could possibly get their water from a well!

Suddenly, Tak disappeared from in front of me. I stopped dead, feverishly looking around.

"Up here." I raised my head, and saw Tak standing on something behind the fence. Peering behind the wood, I came face to face with a plateau-like incline, leveling out several feet above my head, where the fence stopped. Okay, now I knew where he was, but how had he gotten up there, and how would I? I wasn't about to climb some fence!

"Take a few steps forward and a look to your left." I sighed, walked forward, and was just about to ask what the joke was when I noticed the incredibly steep path that managed to cover the sudden height change of eight feet in just a yard or two. A bicycle would roll backwards on that slope. Looking at Tak with renewed respect for having gotten up that, I took a deep breath and ran at the mini-hill. Hurrying to scramble up it so I wouldn't slide back on my feet, I came to rest, huffing a bit, at the top.

Still leaning over, with hands on my knees, I surveyed the area. A farm, but not as I had expected. There was no John Deere equipment in the field, no large, expensive milking station. Just more small brick buildings, and— oh man, not another well! There were three plots of land, and, I was no farmer, but they looked tiny by any standards. On the two smaller fields, I figured I could get around thirty crops, and many more on the larger one, but still. I'm pretty sure selling thirty tomatoes wouldn't pay even half of whatever the monthly mortgage was for this farm.

The centerpiece for this magnificent establishment was an old wooden barn with a field of dead looking grass behind it. Tak began walking towards the pasture, and I followed. For an old man, he really did get around pretty fast!

"This is where your father kept his animals. We had to sell them after… you know…" Getting a far away look in his eye, Tak murmured, "I guess this whole place is yours now," seeming to talk more to himself than me. Turning, he smiled. "Give it a name son."

What! A little notice would have been nice! It took me ten minutes to pick a name for myself in video games. Yeah, come back in a month and I might have a name for this place!

"Uhh..." I faltered, not sure what to say. But Takakura seemed to sense my dilemma.

"It's all a bit much to take in, inheriting a farm and all. Why don't you tell me at the end of the day what you've decided?"

"Thanks," I sighed, relieved.

Tak gestured about. "Let's get going. First I'll show you around the farm, and then we can go meet the people in town.

"Okay," Tak murmured to himself, reviewing what I supposed was a well rehearsed speech on the basics of farm life, "now for the pasture." Taking a deep breath to ready himself, Tak pointed to the large square of fenced in grass in front of us. "When the grass grows long enough, you can cut it and store it in your barn as fodder, for the animals. When they're outside, though, they can feed themselves well enough on uncut grass."

He led me around to a small wooden house near the entrance to the farm. "This is my house. I think we'll keep about the same schedules, so stop in any time if you have questions."

Next door was a tall stone building. Stepping inside, I nearly tripped over a small cooler and book. "That," Tak explained, pointing to the book, "is the ledger. Now, I go into town almost every day to sell the dairy products that you leave in the cooler." He paused and pointed to the aged blue cooler. "Drop stuff that you want to sell in here, and there's a cooler for crops in the back. Going back to the ledger, it has the prices of the equipment and livestock you can buy. Leave a note and the money, and I'll bring your purchases back in a few days.

I wasn't sure what livestock was— fertilizer, maybe? — but I sure knew what equipment was. But what else could I need, seeing as Tak had said he'd let me use his tools? I didn't want to look like an idiot, but I simply couldn't think what else there possibly could be to running a farm, and what if I didn't have something really important and all the crops and animals died and my fathers farm fell into ruins?!

Confessing my ignorance, I asked, "What other things would I need to run the farm?"

Probably beating himself over the head for leaving an entire farm in my amazingly unintelligent hands, Tak told me that the tools he had left to me were old and very heavy, and just carrying them around would make me tired, not counting the work that I would have to do with them, and it would be in my best interests to save up for some new, lighter tools.

"It's also where you can order animals, like cows, sheep, and chickens once you have the money."

Well now it made sense! "Okay, I understand. But why didn't you mention animals before?"

With a pitying look, Tak hinted, "Livestock..."

Aah... Stock that is live, hence the term, livestock.

Trying to forget what had just happened, I followed Tak over to the chicken coop. Not much, just a place for food, water, chickens, and an incubator.

Back outside, Tak showed me the well where I would fill my watering can. Pointing to a large patch of black dirt, he explained, "That's where I would recommend growing crops, as it has the most fertile soil. There are two other fields, perhaps closer to your house, but plants wills will take longer to grow. Hmm… Maybe a good spot for trees…"

As Tak drifted into his own thoughts, I could finally feel the end of the farm tour coming on. Pulling back to the present, the old man led me again to the decrepit barn. "This is where your animals will spend nights. I'd recommend putting them out in good weather. Being cooped up inside is stressful, but not as much as being stuck out in the rain."

"Yu-huh. So, the barn..?" Bored with Tak constantly talking to himself, I stepped towards the door; hoping to speed the process up a bit.

"Wait! First let me show you the tool shed, it's only right next door." Tak gently herded me to a tiny lean-to situated against the barn. Well, anything to get a move on I guess. Sighing, I trudged into the old shack—Takakura following close behind.

Immediately, the odor of stale air and something that smelled like decaying leaves coated in cow… "Leavings." Gagging, I stumbled forward and stepped on the culprit. Moldy hay lying in a puddle of who-wants-to-know. Noticing my discomfort, Tak quickly pointed to the shelf holding a row of assorted tools and led me through a side door into the barn.

Standing there was the most mischievous looking cow I had ever seen. Interest danced in her golden eyes as she met my gaze; reminding me of myself as a little boy, dreaming up ways to prank my elderly grandpa.

"Give her a name, son. She's yours." Tak encouraged.

Had he not learned of my inability to name anything whatsoever back at the pasture? Searching for a suitable name, I looked into the animal's eyes. Her deep, golden eyes. Rather like…

"Amber," I declared. "Her name is Amber."

"Amber it is!" Tak announced, pleased at my timely decision. "Now let's head into town."

We walked out of the barn and headed down the path connecting barns and pastures to the rest of Forget-Me-Not Valley's population. I had just started to follow Takakura, when there was a ferocious growl from behind me. Yelping, I whirled around.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, this is MarzaPanda for my first story ever! This story is based on A Wonderful Life, centering around an OC. Later Celia get's _way _more of a part, so she's one of the "main characters." The only reason this story is rated T is for of the Blue Bar and minimal alchohol use. I know the beginning is a bit slow, but 'ya gotta introduce the characters at some point! I've been working on this story for a while, and decided to start uploading it so I can become a beta reader.

Please review; I don't mind flames.

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_I had just started to follow Takakura, when there was a ferocious growl _

_from behind me. Yelping, I whirled around..._

Standing behind us was… the cutest little puppy I had ever seen! It was barely recognizable as a collie; looking like it had run here from another town. Haggard and shaggy, the dog's ribs were clearly visible from under matted hair. Just as I was about to turn away from the depressing sight, a long pink tongue lolled out from nowhere and a playful yip—probably the "fierce growl" from before—cut the air.

"With a little cleaning up, that could be a great dog one day; keep the wild animals away from the livestock while you're out in town."

I considered this. "But my place doesn't have a dog house. Otherwise, though..." I cast a longing look at the pup.

"Well, a dog house would be easy enough to build. And as long as he keeps his...business...to himself, I don't see why not."

With a mental whoop, I excitedly led the dog back up to the farm and hoisted him over the pasture fence. Bending down to eye level, I cooed, "You should be safe here, yes you should. As soon as I get back, we'll be great friends and I'll give you a name!"

Straightening up, I took one last look at my new pup and hurried back to Tak, who was trying his best to conceal laughter. Practically pushing past him, I hurried down the path to town.

"Hold on. How do you want me to introduce you to the village folk?"

"Oh, just Ben will be fine." My full name was Benjamin Reed, but that was a bit of a mouthful.

Tak led me to a large building directly outside the farm. Two stories tall, it towered over the small ramshackle huts nearby. Despite its height, the place had certain warmth. Red cloth onnings slanted down from above the entrance and a small fenced area around the sides and back held a few hearty green stems, some already brimming with buds.

Suddenly I found myself in the fierce embrace of a short, plump woman.

"Oh, you must be Benjamin! My name's Ruby; I run the inn with my husband Tim." Pulling back, she gestured behind her to a sturdy man. His attempt at seriousness—only a brief nod in acknowledgment—was slightly offset by the garish orange apron around his waist. "And this is our son, Rock," she said in a disheartened what-can-you-do? voice. Rock, it seemed, was the oddball of the island, wearing sky blue sweats and a spaced out smile. While his parent's hair was dark and unruly, Rock's was blond and neatly trimmed.

"Hey, Ben-O! What's up?" Giving me a drunken thumbs up, he stumbled back into the inn; Ruby and Tim following with a sigh. Hmm. Maybe he was more like the village stoner.

As Tak and I turned to continue our tour, Ruby ran back outside.

"Wait, I forgot to tell you about Nami! She's a traveler; lives upstairs—that room with the window, you see?" I craned my head to look around the onning, and caught a quick glimpse of a red headed girl before the shades closed. "She's a little embarrassed, having a young man in the village now," Ruby whispered, giving me a quick wink. Hmm, a lady in town. Maybe this wouldn't be so dull after all. Maybe we'd travel out of this dump. Maybe—

"Oh hey Wally." Annoyed at being pulledfrom my fantasy, which was more of leaving than of Nami, I looked up to see a man covered in sweat jogging in place. Next to him was a little orange haired kid who was jumping up and down and pumping weights. "Howdy Hugh. How's your mom doing?" Tak asked.

Hugh paused momentarily. "Mommy's by the well getting water for us after running." Without warning, he turned on me. "Who are you? What's your name? Where do you live? Do you like running?"

"Uhh..." I blinked, staring down at the bouncing child.

"Don't mind Hugh; he's just excited to meet someone new. I'm Wally, by the way," the man interjected. "That's my wife Chris up the well." I looked over to see a neatly dressed woman, with hair the same shade as her son's pulled back into a neat bun. Overall, Chris looked like she sat in an office 24/7 typing. As she looked up, I expected a stuffy little nod, but was suprised when she smiled and waved.

"She's a first grade teacher," Wally mentioned at my startled expression.

"Well, we better get going. Gotta show Ben here around the village."

"It was great meeting you."

"Bye."

We walked past Chris at the well and headed up the road. Tak gestured to the three houses that lined one side of the pavement. "That building on the left belongs to Wally and Chris. In the middle there's Doc Hardy—odd old man, wears a lab coat and striped shorts. Galen and Nina live on the end, but it doesn't look like they're in. Nice, elderly couple.

Rouding a corner, Tak and I walked up a steep stone path. Just as my breath was beginning to run out, the road leveled out; revealing a beautiful mansion. I gasped, looking at the carefully trimmed shrubs, shaded sitting area, and a fountain complete with cascading waves of water. Before we could go inside, an old woman, young girl, and ancient looking man stepped out.

"Ben, this is Romana, Lumina, and Sebastien." When he said her name, the girl blushed and turned away.

"Say hello to the nice man, Lumina." Romana chided, a hint of mischief in her voice. Looking at her shoes, the adolescent murmured something I couldn't hear. Suddenly it hit me. Lumina had a crush on me! Sure, she was a few years younger, but it wasn't that different than my fantasizing about Hillary Duff. I gave her an encouraging smile, but left it at that; not wanting to make her too uncomfortable. Except Romana was having none of that.

"Lumina's been waiting for you for a long time, Benjamin. She wants to give you a hand on the farm and help you find your way around town.

"Auntie! Why—" the girl gasped.

"Time to go," Tak said under his breath, nudging me.

"See you later!" I called over my shoulder as we practically ran from the scene.

"I was only trying to help..." Romana's voice trailed from behind us.

At the bottom of the hill, Tak turned to me. "Over there—down by the beach where you landed—some real odd folk are living. Guy with a guitar, pyrotechnic twins, an artist, and a mad scientist or something.

"Now I'll show you where to get what you'll need for farming; seeds, fertilizer, and what not."

"Hold on," I said, hurrying to catch up with Takakura, "Don't I get that from the ledger thing?"

"No, no. That's for ranching products, like milkers, feed, and livestock. The only farming tools you can get from me are sickles, watering cans, things like that."

Passing the entrance to my dad's farm, we stopped in front of a bridge that crossed over a small but fast flowing river. "The path upstream from here leads to the spring. On the other side of the river there's a waterfall and a mine up that way. Downstream is the ocean.''

"And over the stream..." I hinted. _Come on old man. It's getting dark._

"Oh, yes. Sorry." Walking forward, I saw the base of the mountains that surrounded the valley, as well as the winding trail leading up between them. I looked questioningly to Tak, who answered, "That leads up to Mineral Town; where I buy your tools and animals. Maybe you can go there sometime too. Ah, here's Vesta's farm."

Circled by a white picket fence, the farm was composed of three greenhouses, several fields blooming with green and yellow flowers, and two small buildings.

A large woman with carrot colored hair emerged from one of the houses, weating an apron covered with dirt. "Takakura," she in a voice that was gruff, but warm. "This the new farmer?"

"Yep. His name's Ben. Ben, this is Vesta. She and her family run this farm." In spite of the tall, muscle-bound woman looming over me, I managed a smile.

Lifting a hand, I decided to try a joke. "So you're my competition." Vesta frowned down at me, and I realized that any plans I'd had for a career in the farming business were now finished. But suddenly her face cracked into a wide grin.

"Lighten up kid. Looked like you were about to faint." Forcing a chuckle, I wiped the sweat from my face. "Here come Celia and Marlin." Turning, I saw two figures exitting the greenhouse. The man stopped laughing when he saw me. "This is Ben. He just moved into the farm on the other side of the river."

Smiling good-naturedly, the girl offered her hand. "Hi, I'm Celia. This is my cousin Marlin." I stifled a comment about not knowing that hot girls were into farming when I saw the don't-you-dare frown on Marlin's face.

While Marlin looked uptight in a white shirt—somehow free of dirt—and jean, Celia exuded comfort and earthiness with an orange bandana over her auborn hair and a striped apron.

"Well, we better get back to work. Gotta get all the plants watered before dark," Vesta said into the awkward silence.

"Feel free to come over any time if you need help." Celia smiled sweetly from over her shoulder as she followed Vesta over to the fields. Marlin shot me a final glare before trudging after them. _What's his problem? _I wondered as Tak lead me back towards the farm.

"You know, The Blue Bar should be open by now. Let's head over and grab a drink—it'll help you get to sleep after such an exciting day. You can meet Griffin and Muffy while we're there."


	3. Chapter 3

Hey dudes! MarzaPanda here for my first story on FanFiction. Sorry for the short chapter; I just couldn't start the next day and leave it hanging! Get ready for some major farming fun in store soon :D

Please review, I don't mind flames.

_"You know, The Blue Bar should be open by now. Let's head over and grab a drink—it'll help you get to sleep after such an exciting day. You can meet Griffin and Muffy while we're there."_

_Tak knows I'm only 19, right? _I wondered, following him into the bar. _Am I even allowed to be in here? _Sitting down on a barstool, I looked around. No neon _Coors _or_ BudLight _signs glowing on the walls. Actually, the wood flooring gave the place a rather cozy feeling; as did the shelves filled with musty old bottles and antique books on wine prices.

"Can I help you?" I averted my gaze from the Southern bar man, trying to appear mature as I checked my watch and straightened the collar on my polo shirt.

"Hey Griffin. This is Ben, the new farmer in town."

"Nice to meet you. We just got a shipment of Pinot Noir from Mineral Town's brewery. Care to try it?"

"Sorry Griffin; Ben's not quite old enough for that." Tak laughed. "I'll take a glass, but my friend here will have a bottle of your famous Moo Moo Milk."

"Muffy," Griffin called over his shoulder, "you heard their order? Bring the drinks on out and introduce yourself." From a small door behind the counter came a delicate looking blond in a low cut red dress.

"Here y'all are. Enjoy!" Before she could slip in to the back room, Griffin put a hand on her arm.

"Come on, Muff. This is Ben, the owner of Jack's old farm. Don't you want to meet him?" Griffin goaded the young girl. "I'd say he's just a bit younger than you, right Ben?" I shrugged nonconcommittally. I wasn't about to guess an older woman's age.

Before anyone could ask her another question, Muffy edged into a corner and busied herself with dusting shelves. As Tak drank easily from his glass, I looked down at my "Moo Moo Milk." Never having been much for milk, I began with a small sip. Wow! Gulping it down, I tried to figure out what that delicious flavor was.

Seeing my amazement, Griffin chuckled. "Pretty good, huh? Comes fresh from Yodel Farm twice a week. Give your cows enough love, and you might get milk this good right on your own farm."

_Why would a cow liking me make it give good milk?_ Deciding to ask Tak later, I finished off my milk and waited for Tak. When he was done, we stood, thanked Griffin, and headed for the door. "Drop in any time!" Muffy called as we left.

Yawning, Tak walked back up the hill to the farm. Before we got to my new house, a playful bark echoed across the pasture. Remembering my new puppy, I raced over to the wooden fence surrounding the grass. Lifting the dog up, I put him down next to me. "You can't sleep outside until your doghouse is ready. Come on, you can sleep with me tonight!" Together, we trotted back to Tak, who was standing patiently by the door.

"I'll wake you up tomorrow when _I _get up, and show you the ropes. Better get to sleep soon; or you'll still be tired in the morning." I stepped inside the house and began to close the door, when Tak stopped me. "Wait, you haven't named the farm yet!"

I groaned. _Why now? _"Well, what did my dad call this place?"

Tak laughed. "Oh, your old man had a pretty good sense of humor. Called his farm The Cow Pie Proprietary." Slapping his knee, Tak continued to chuckle while I rolled my eyes.

"Well, I don't think Dad passed his comedic genius down to me, so I think I'll just call it Big Apple Acres. Pretty good, huh, since I'm from New York?"

As much as I liked the name, Tak definitely didn't. "It's fine," he nodded evasively, "but how about something with a little more spunk?"

Humph. Looked like somebody didnt know a great name when he heard it. "WTF, man. That name was awesome!

"What does 'WTF' mean?" Tak questioned, inncocently.

"It, uh, means...What the farm!" I invented. "You know; just trying to get with the lingo of this place."

"You're right! WTF is a wonderful name for a wonderful farm! It's short, but stands for something so brilliant!"

"Wait, I didn't mean for the farm—" But Tak was already saying goodnight and walking back to his house. Groaning, I slumped against the door. Anyone with a semi-current vocabulary in this valley would be burning down my house when they heard Tak boasting about the name of the farm, and who had come up with the 'spectacular' idea.

I headed inside with the pup, and surveyed my new home. Along the back wall was a small fridge, stove, and TV. A bed was on one side of the room, while a bookshelf and calendar adorned the other. The center of the house was rather empty, with only a wooden table and chair.

Not quite ready for bed, I walked over to the television and turned it on to—the weather channel! _Yuck. _I punched a button on the remote, but nothing happened. Getting up, I changed the channel manually. Still the weather. _Guess that's the only channel this town gets. Oh well._

I laid down on the bed and glance over at my furry friend. He was sitting forlornly on a rug under the table. "Don't tell me you want a name, too?" I frowned, looking over the pooch on my rug. "How about Hiro?" He cocked his head at me curiously. "Like the Asian guy on _Heroes_ that can stop time. Guess I won't be seeing that show again any time soon."

Laying back on the bed, I scratched Hiro's ears as he jumped up beside me. I yawned and kicked off my shoes. _Maybe farm life won't be so bad. Might even be fun..._


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, MarzaPanda here! Thanks for everyone that reviewed and/or left nice comments; it really does mean the world to me. I'm almost to six thousand words, and to be a beta reader I either need that many words or five stories published. I'll definitely still be updating as I need to have been on the registered on the site for a while. Please, keep reading and enjoy!

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_Laying back on the bed, I scratched Hiro's ears as he jumped up beside me. I yawned and kicked off my shoes. Maybe farm life won't be so bad. Might even be fun..._

*

_Scritch-scritch._

Yawning, I opened my eyes. What had woken me up at _this _ungodly hour.

_Scritch-scritch. _I sat bolt upright. _What was that?_ Whatever it was, it was coming from my door. Pulling the covers up to my eyes, I started wondering what kinds of wild animals lived in a place like this. Foxes? Wolves? Bears?!

They'd find me dead in my bed. _How sad, _they'd say; _he hadn't even planted a seed yet, or milked a cow. _My family would sob over my mangled remains. Or would the bear eat me, and leave nothing behind?

A small whimper reached my ears. Oh no; the bear had gotten Hiro! Picking up a small alarm clock from my bedside table, I slid out of bed and crept towards the door.

"Aah!" I slipped on a puddle and fell back on my butt. Bleary eyed, I leaned forward. "Crap," Actually, it was more like pee. A little circle of puppy piddle, in fact. The scratching noise came again, and I looked up. There was Hiro; whining softly and pawing at the door. I pushed it open, and he bounded off, wiggling under the pasture fence.

Closing the door, I pulled off my dirty socks and used them to wipe up the urine. _Straight into the trash can with these. _After making sure all of the windows were covered, I changed into a white and blue striped shirt, shorts, and new socks. Finally my shoes were on and I was ready to go.

Outside I found Hiro finishing up his business. Well, now I didn't need to spend money on fertilizer. Leaving him to snoop around, I headed towards Tak's house. As I approached, he came out and turned to me.

"Oh, Ben. I was just coming over to wake you up. Figured you'd like to sleep in a little on your first day. Looks like you're up and ready to go!"

"Yeah," I checked my watch. Since when was waking up at six in the morning sleeping in?

"Listen, something came up and I have to go into town. That means I won't be around to help you on your first day. Mmm, let's see; something to keep you busy until I get back...

"I know! Give Amber some food and take her outside into the pasture. Show her a little love; she might even let you milk her. Then head over to Vesta's. Someone over there will be able to help you get started farming."

"Great. Thanks." This left me slightly crestfallen; I'd been planning to sleep until at least ten. But how long could it take to haul a cow outside and talk to some people? I'd be done and back in bed before noon!

I watched Tak walk away—my spirits slightly higher—and the walked toward the barn that held my cow. My _sleeping _cow. "Time to wake up, Amber." I said, patting her roughly on the head. She snorted, eyes still closed, and turned away. "Come on, get up..." Cheerful goading wasn't the way to go either. Why wasn't she listening to me? And now that I thought about it, what right did she have to ignore me? I was her owner, and got a heck of a lot less sleep than she'd had.

"Get up, you lazy cow!" One eye opened, and rolled up to glare at me. "I-I didn't mean it that way... Here! Let me get you some food." Hurridly backing away, I looked around the barn. Finally I spotted a large slot on the wall behind me. A faded sign next to it read _Turn crank once for single serving of fodder. _With both hands, I pulled at the rusted handle, getting it to rotate a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Looking down, I saw a yellow bale of hay sitting at my feet; evidently having dropped out of the hole. Removing it, I turned the handle—watching carefully this time. A thin metal paddle attached to a rod moved slowly in a circle, scooping another bale forward onto the ground. Huh. I hadn't known what to expect; with this farm being so old. What had at first looked like a complex machine that dispensed hay was now revealed as just an ingenius application of simple machines.

Feeling smart at having figured something—anything—out, I picked up the yellow straw and dumped it all into Amber's feeding trough. She looked up at me, now with a curious look in her eyes. "Look, this must be pretty confusing; first with me waking you up so rudely and then giving you all this great...food. Let's start over. Now, eat up and we'll head outside!" She lowered her head and moments later the trough was empty.

"This way," I walked slowly to the door leading out into the pasture, motioning to Amber. It seemed, however, that she was happy to stay put now that she'd been fed. "Please..." I pleaded, petting her nose. With a resigned grunt, the cow stood and plodded slowly to where I had been standing. Upon reaching the door, she looked back at me. Hurying forward, I pushed it open and the cow continued forward. I ran back and checked around the barn; just to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Going back to the door, I reached out to open it. The wood swung forward a few inches and stopped. I leaned against it, but to no avail. Sighing, I went through the connecting door to the toolshed and headed around to the pasture.

There she was. Laying directly in front of the door, smugly chewing at some grass. Growling, I turned around and stomped down the path that led away from the farm. _We'll see who's in control when I leave you outside tonight. _Remembering what Tak had said about getting some farming done, I turned down the path to Vesta's.

_Okay, this way, not past the Inn, cross the bridge, not up this path—go straight, up and _here!

Yep, there were the three greenhouses. I passed the picket fence, and peeked around a house at the vegetable patch. Even though this was a public business, it felt a bit awkward poking around someone's yard like this. It was surprising not to see anyone around. From the way Tak had talked about these people, it'd sounded like they bathed in soil and lived among the crops.

Hmm. I really _had_ wanted to get some seeds or something to show I'd at least made an effort on Tak's to-do list. _I could knock on the door to see if anyone's home. _My watch said nine in the morning, but was that a good hour for socializing around here. Guess it was time to find out.

Taking a breath, I tapped lightly on the door; though the sound seemed to boom around the valley and echo off of walls. A few seconds later, the door swung open and I caught a glimpse of a small kitchen and couch before Celia came into view.

"Hey Ben! Need some help?" She smiled sweetly at me, and I nodded. "Well, come on over to this building; it's where we deal with orders and business." Another building—this one smaller—stood next to the greenhouses, and the inside held boxes and a small table covered in papers and pens. But if this was where they did business and dealed with customers...then I'd interrupted Celia at home, not at work. Flushing red, I began a proffuse apology, but was cut off by Celia.

"Don't worry about it. Now, over here are our seeds that can grow in the valley. Some crops—like coconuts and sugarcane—can't survive in this climate, so we keep them seperated. You know, we get orders from all over. Mineral Town, Waffle Island..." But I'd stopped listening as soon as she'd taken my hand. True; it'd just been to show me some packets of seeds, but I was willing to take it where I could get it!

"Ben? Ben?" I glanced up to find her watching me. "You heard what I was saying? These eight types will be a perfect match for the soil in your fields. The best bet right now would be tomatoes, watermelons, and strawberries. Maybe potatoes, but they're a bit risky." Well, might as well stock up while I was here. After all, Tak had left me some money to start with.

Surveying the prices, I did some mental calculations. "I'll take... eight of each kind!"

"Well, don't you want to save some money for later in the year? You'll want some of the other kinds of seeds, too."

"Oh." I recalculated. "Four of _every _type of seed, then!" We worked with the money, and I watched as my purchases were bagged up.

"Thanks a lot for your help, Celia. Say, where are Vesta and Marlin?"

She chuckled. "They're off making some deals. Probably be in Mineral Town by this time."

"Better get going," I said regretfully. "Again, it was really nice of you to explain everything." Not only had Celia helped me with the seeds, but she'd also explained the process of planting and taking care of the seed once it had sprouted.

"Remember, crops will grow very fast here. Keep an eye on them once they've sprouted." I groaned, and she put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll make a farmer of you yet."

Still feeling the warm touch of her hand on my arm, I walked in a daze back to my farm; a giddy smile glowing on my face.


End file.
